Summer Semester '10: Ceviche

Ceviche is one of those foods that, in the same vein as sushi, a good number of people are deathly afraid of because it is not cooked with heat. Unfortunately, even in this day an age, well past the days of cholera and dysentery here in the US, infectious diseases and food bourne illnesses are a very real concern. While it is true that raw and undercooked foods present a higher risk for carrying food bourne illnesses than their well-done counterparts, I've always found it fascinating that people don't think to ask about where their food is coming from as an indicator of how likely it is to be contaminated. Admittedly, I've been on a big Omnivore's Dilemma kick (only fueled by my girlfriend getting me Animal Vegetable Miracle for my birthday this year). Just this past week, 380 million eggs were recalled from an Iowa concentrated animal feeding operation (CAFO) because of salmonella outbreaks. To bring this post back to blog relevance, this is why I bought the fish for this following recipe for ceviche from my local Whole Foods. Sure it was more expensive, but at least it came with some token knowledge of where regionally the fish was caught or farmed, and something about the farming practices of the specific place (no hormones, antibiotics, et cetera). Sure there were people who didn't want to eat it, just for what it was, but out of everyone who did at the large cookout I prepared it at, not a single person got ill.



I became hooked on ceviche years ago, and recently got one of my friends hooked too. In fact, we actually cleaned out our cruise ship's supply of it back during our last vacation in April. It was being offered as a free appetizer at the ship's wine bar, and his wife and my girlfriend didn't even get to try any after we were through! Although there are many, many variations (some local and some more progressive-chef-creative), it really couldn't be a simpler formula:



Fresh Fish + Citrus Acid + Salt + Time = Ceviche



Of course, there are some other wonderful additions like chiles, garlic, herbs, tomatoes and garnishes, but I will leave those at your discretion. As it is served cold, I prefer it as a summer dish.



Simple Ceviche

• About one pound of fresh, high quality, preferably organic, preferably local (to increase freshness) seafood (Figure 387.a). Previously frozen isn't ideal, but it is acceptable. I've used sea bass, scallops, snapper, shrimp ... really any solid, meaty seafood or shell fish. Avoid flakier and more delicate stuff like tilapia. You want something that will hold it's shape after 3-4 hours of marinating in a relatively strong acid.

Figure 387. a - Big Fish.

• One to one and half cups of freshly squeezed citrus acid. Lime is classic, but I've recently used a combination of lime and grapefruit to good effect. Strain it to make sure mostly all of the pulp is removed (figure 387.b)

Figure 387.b - A combination of lime and grapefruit juice. I wish I had tested the pH for nerdiness' sake.

• A teaspoon of salt. Feel free to omit this right away and sprinkle it on later. You can also use more interesting salts post-hoc in this way as both a flavoring and a garnish, like Himalayan pink salt, Maldon salt, black salt, et cetera.
• One or two hot chili peppers to taste.
• A big bunch of cilantro, de-stemmed and chopped.
• A clove of finely chopped garlic.
• Garnishes like match-stick cut mango and super thinly sliced spanish (red) onion or sweet onion.

Toss all the ingredients together in a non-reactive (read: not plastic, not metal - glass) bowl. Keep it cool and allow it to marinate for 3-4 hours. The acids in the marinade will actually denature the proteins in the fish as heat would, leaving you with super tasty fish with a cooked texture. Serve with whatever garnishes you like, and if bringing it outdoors, put the glass bowl inside another bowl with ice and water to keep it cool.

Figure 387.c. - Please note how unreactive the bowl is.

Figure 387.d - The finished product, ravaged by party-goers.

Sorry that I haven't been posting as regularly as I'd like to, my girlfriend and I took the big step and moved in together, and two apartments worth of unpacking (and my other birthday gift, Red Dead Redemption) have been keeping me pretty occupied. I'll figure out something to post next week.

Summer Semester '10: Catch of the Day

Sorry for the lack of updates, I recently moved and my computer is busted. I'm stealing a little time away from work, believe it or not, to chip away at this update I've been meaning to post for a few weeks now.

So this is something I really enjoy: deep sea fishing. I went a couple of times back in medical school for various friends' bachelor parties, and then I just went again recently. We mostly fish for striped bass (a.k.a striper, rock fish) in the North Atlantic. Once, we went on an all day trip, but forgot to bring anything but beer. That was entertaining. My personal favorite part of the trip is bringing home filet upon filet of awesome fish. The last time we went, we also caught some blue fish, which I found infinitely more flavorful, but much smaller than the striper.

Being known to experiment with food and having a huge glut of striper filets to experiment with, here's something that I came up with that works really well. You can certainly buy the fish in a market rather than catching it yourself, but for some reason, it may not taste as good. Use panko bread crumbs - this will give the outside of crispy texture that regular bread crumbs won't give you.

Panko and Spice Encrusted Sea Bass

• One or two whole filets of striped bass (0r blue fish), cut into portions.
• As much flour as you need for dredging (probably about a cup per 2 lb of fish). I initially used all purpose flour, but I've recently found that whole wheat flour works better.
• Pick your favorite spice or spice mix and get about 1-2 tsp of it. I've used cajun blend, smoked paprika and chinese five-spice so far. Mix it in well with the flour.
• One egg per pound of filet, beaten.
• One cup of panko bread crumbs per filet.
• (optional) A small bunch of flat leaf italian parsley, stemmed and chopped fine, mixed in with the panko.

In three seperate bowls, prepare your flour and spice dredge, your beaten eggs and your panko, with our without herbs (Figure 17.x). Start some olive oil (or cooking spray) in a flat skillet on medium heat. Dredge your fish portions in flour, then egg, then panko in that order. Make sure every surface of the fish is coated at each step. Toss into the pan, and cook for about 5-10 minutes per side, depending on thickness. Flip only once, when the fish releases easily from the bottom of the pan (Figure 17.z). Enjoy!

Figure 17.x - Flour, then egg, then panko.

Figure 17.z - Fish in action!

Next update (hopefully next week once I get my computer fixed... Geek Squad here I come) will be another fish dish... a little more fresh and a little less wild. The fish, I mean. Not the dish.